Apparatus for continuous, high-speed processing and cleaning of fibers



Ju y 9, 1963 M. M. BRYAN. JR 3,391,430

APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUS, HIGH-SPEED PROCESSING AND CLEANING 0F FIBERSOriginal Filed Jan. 10, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 WVEIVTOQ; map/s 0. 5pm;.12

I I m 5'' M. M. BRYAN. JR APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUS,

July 9. 1968 HIGH-SPEED PROCESSING AND CLEANING 0F FIBERS Original FiledJan. 10, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOB "OPP/5 M 82M, JE

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ITTOQIVEW United States Patent 3,391,430 APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUS,HIGH-SPEED PROCESSING AND CLEANING OF FIBERS Morris M. Bryan, Jr.,Jefferson, Ga., assignor to The Jefferson Mills, Inc., Jefferson, Ga., acorporation of Georgia Application Jan. 10, 1966, Ser. No. 519,579, nowPatent No. 3,320,641, dated May 23, 1967, which is acontinuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 183,890, Mar. 30, 1962.Divided and this application Sept. 19, 1966, Ser.

No. 580,480 3 Claims. (Cl. 19--156.4)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This application is a division of co-pendingapplication, Ser. No. 519,579, filed Jan. 10, 1966, now Patent No.3,320,641, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 183,890, filedMar. 30, 1962, now abandoned.

The present invention relates to processing fibers for use in textilemanufacturing, and more particularly pertains to a method and apparatusfor continuous, highspeed processing and cleaning of such fibers.

Fibers for use in textile manufacturing are frequently obtained in acondition in which they are randomly arranged in masses along withvarious types of entrained foreign matter, dirt and trash. Before thesefibers may be drawn, combed and processed into threads and yarns theymust be cleaned, blended and separated so as to remove substantially allof the entrained material.

Heretofore, cleaning, blending and separating of these fibers has beenaccomplished by subjecting the fiber masses to a series of successiveoperations generally referred to as opening, picking and carding. In theopening operation the masses of fibers are fed to a machine whichloosens and partially separates the fibers. During this procedure somedirt and other heavy trash is removed from the fibers by gravity orcentrifugal force through screens. However, a large amount of theentrained foreign material remains and further cleaning is essential.

From the opening operation the mixture of fiber is fed to a pickerwherein the fibers are again opened and separated. Additional incidentalcleaning of the fibers takes place during this processing. Thereafterthe randomly oriented fibers are formed into a flat, thick batt called apicker lap. Frequently, the picker lap is wound on a take-up roller andstored for future use.

The picker lap must be further processed and cleaned and therefore isfed to a carding operation. In this operation the picker lap isdelivered to a carding cylinder by a licker-in. On the carding cylinderthe fibers are more completely opened and separated whereby furtherentrained material is removed. The fibers are also dispersed into athin, randomly arranged sheet or web whereafter they are transferred toa rotating doifer cylinder. As the doffer cylinder rotates the web isstripped therefrom by a vibrating doifer comb and subsequently gatheredinto a trumpet for condensing into a sliver. The slivers are 3,391,436Patented July 9, 1968 then subjected to drawing and combing andthereafter processed intova thread or yarn.

As is apparent from the above discussion the initial processing of thefibers required much apparatus and floor space as well as numerousskilled operators. Furthermore, and possibly most important, the cardedweb of fibers obtained from a single pass through this operation did notalways have an acceptable degree of cleanliness. Consequently, the webof fibers oftentimes had to be processed through several cardingoperations until an acceptable web was obtained. The net result in theseinstances was a decreased production rate and consequent economicdisadvantage.

The process and apparatus of the present invention provides forcontinuous operation in which the picker of the prior art is eliminatedand wherein the fibers are processed and cleaned to a high degree on asingle pass. The continuous operation is accomplished by feeding themasses of fibers to a conventional feeder such as the Bramwell type.From the feeder, the fibers pass to a licker-in for delivery to a cardcylinder. The carding cylinder performs functions of separating,cleaning and blending the fibers into a web just as in the prior art. Adoffer cylinder strips the web of fibers from the carding cylinderwhereupon they are pneumatically propelled angularly upward to aforaminous collecting surface. During this propulsion the fibers of thecarded web become highly separated whereupon entrained foreign matterdrops out and away from the fibers and the collecting surface. Thefinely divided foreign matter which becomes separated from the fibersbut is carried with the airstream due to its light weight passes outthrough the foraminous collecting surface wherein the fibers aredeposited and withdrawn in a highly cleaned state.

The removal of foreign matter from the fibers at high production ratesin accordance with the present invention far exceeds the cleaningaccomplished by the heretofore employed prior art methods and apparatus.Furthermore, production rates eight to ten times those of the prior artmethods and apparatus may be achieved by the present invention.

Therefore, it is one object of my invention to provide a method andapparatus for continuous high-speed processing and cleaning of fibersfor use in textile manufacturing.

Another object of my invention is to provide improvements in fiberprocessing and cleaning which have heretofore been performed byoperations known as opening, picking and carding.

A further object of my invention is to provide a method and apparatusfor producing fibers having a high degree of cleanliness at highproduction rates.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willappear from the following description with reference to the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side e-levational view of the method and apparatus of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of that portion of the method andapparatus shown in FIG. 1 wherein carded fibers are pneumaticallypropelled to the collecting surface.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the rotatable collecting surface and thebaffle therefore.

In accordance with the present invention, and as shown in FIG. 1,tangled masses of fibers as received are fed in a known manner to anintake hopper 11 of a conventional feeder 10, Le. a Bramwell Feeder. Thefeeder essentially forms the masses of fibers into a batt of tufts whichis then transmitted via a feed apron 12 to a pair of opposed drivingrolls 13 and 14.

In forming the batt of tufts some incidental cleaning of the fiberstakes place. This incidental cleaning results 3 from the manipulation ofthe fiber masses within the feeder.

The driving rolls 13 and 14 are positioned in such a manner as tocompress the batt of tufts as it passes therethrough forming a lapresembling a picker lap. This lap then passes between a feed roll 15 andthe licker-in 16 which deposits the fibers of the lap onto a rotatingcarding cylinder 17.

The carding cylinder 17 is of conventional design and has a metallicwire clothing 18 around its peripheral surface. In close proximity tothe upper portion of the peripheral surface of the carding cylinder isan endless series of moving flats 1%. This endless series of flats ismounted for continuous movement around rolls 29 in the same direction asthe rotation of the carding cylinder but at a different speed. In thismanner the lower run 19 of the endless series of flats 19 is moving inthe opposite direction with respect to the closely adjacent peripheralsurface of the rotating carding cylinder. Rotation in this mannerpresents a clean fiat at the discharge side of the carding cylinderwhere cleaning is most effective.

The fibers deposited on the carding cylinder are continuously subjectedto a brushing action from the oppositely moving flats. This brushingfurther disentangles the fibers and allows some of the entrained foreignmatter to be removed. The fibers emerging from under the flats form athin web on the surface of the carding cylinder.

Mounted adjacent the discharge side of the carding cylinder is an airduct 21 having an inlet portion 22 in close proximity to the surface ofthe carding cylinder. The opposite end of the air duct opens intohousing 23 within which a collecting surface rotates. Fibers areconveyed from the carding cylinder to the collecting surface in an airstream created Within the air duct as further described later.

The air duct 21 is positioned so as to slope upwa d away from thecarding cylinder. This upward slope is important in achieving thedesired cleaning of the fibers While they are conveyed through the airduct.

The internal portion of the air duct is illustrated in detail in FIG. 2.As shown therein, the inlet portion 22 of the air duct houses a dofferroll 24. The peripheral surface of the dotfer roll may be covered with ametallic wire clothing or granular clothing in accordance withconventional practice. Preferably, the size of the doffer roll is keptas small as possible without introducing objectional vibration. Ofcourse, conventional size dotfer rolls may also be used.

Although the dotfer rolls of the prior art are customarily driven at aperipheral speed slower then the peripheral speed of the cardingcylinder, the doffer roll of the present invention is driven at asurface speed of 1 /2 to 3 times the surface speed of the cardingcylinder. As a result, substantially all of the web of fibers on thecarding cylinder are removed at the doifer roll thereby preventing nepsfrom being formed in the fibers. Neps are caused when some of the fibersare carried around on the carding cylinder several times prior to beingdotted.

The inlet portion 22 of the air duct has an upwardly extending bafiie 25which houses the upper portion of the doffer roll. This bafiieterminates short of the carding cylinder to provide an opening 26through which air is drawn into the air duct. Air entering this openingmay divide to pass between the doffer roll and the carding cylinder andalso between the doifer roll and the bafile 25. In the first instancethe air aids in removing the fibers from the carding cylinder while inthe second instance the air aids in removing the fibers from the dofferroll.

On the lower side of the inlet portion 22 is a lip 26 which spaced fromthe carding cylinder to also allow air 'to be drawn into the duct 21.The air entering the duct at this point serves to aid in removing thefibers from both the carding cylinder and the dofter roll.

At the opposite end of the duct 21 from the doffer roll is a foraminouscollecting surface through which the air entering the duct at inlet 22is withdrawn by n exhaust fan (not shown) all of which will be moreapparent from the following discussion.

Due to the relatively high rotational speed of the doffer roll and theeffects of the exhaust fan a strong air current is set-up within the airduct 21. The fibers which are dotted from the carding cylinder 17 areentrained in particulate fashion in the air current within the duct andcarried to the opposite end whereupon they are deposited on theforaminous collecting surface. To aid the fibers in their movement inthe air current the duct is provided with a stationary guide bar 22' andsmooth side walls to thereby present a generally unobstructed, lowresistance path.

The entrained fibers become separated and somewhat parallelized in theair current as they pass through the duct. Separation of the fiberssubstantially increases from the entry end of the duct to the collectionend due to the fact that the duct becomes gradually enlarged along itslength. The result is that the foreign material which is contained inthe carded fibers now falls freely to the fioor of the air duct. Thisforeign material slides along the duct floor away from the collectingsurface toward the inlet portion 22 of the air duct due to the inclinedpositioning of the duct. The space between the lip of the air duct andthe carding cylinder may serve as an exit through which the foreignmaterial may escape from the duct.

At the collection end of the duct 21 is a rotating collecting drum 27contained within the housing 23. The collection drum has a foraminoussurface to allow the air current from the duct to pass therethroughWhile collecting the fibers. The fibers are continuously collected onthe surface of the rotating drum and withdrawn in the form of a web 50onto an endless delivery belt 30 for transfer to subsequent drafting andsliver formation. Other means for withdrawing the web from thecollection drum and transferring it to subsequent operations may also beemployed.

The collection drum 27 is rotated at a relatively high speed so as toprevent excessive fiber accumulation on any particular area of itssurface which could detrimentally interfer with the passage of the aircurrent from the duct 21 to the interior of the drum 27. The precisespeed which is employed, consistent with the objectives of the presentinvention, will vary depending upon the relative size of the apparatus.

As mentioned before, an exhaust fan is connected in a known manner tothe interior of the collection drum 27 so as to withdraw air as itpasses from the duct 21 through the foraminous surface of the drum. Inthis manner a continuous air current is created with the duct 21.

It should be understood that any finely divided foreign material whichmay remain suspended with the fibers in the air stream will pass throughthe foraminous surface of the collecting drum along with the air stream.

The collecting drum 27 comprises a rotatable cylindrical sleeve 28 of aforaminous material, such as perforated sheet-metal, and a stationaryinner bafile member 29, all of which is shown in exploded form in FIG.3. The bafile member is mounted closely adjacent the interior peripheralsurface of the rotatable sleeve 28 and has a longitudinal segmentthereof cut-away corresponding with the exit opening of the air duct 21.In this manner the air current in the air duct may pass through theforaminous sleeve 28 while it rotates past the cut-away portion of thebaflie member. Since the perforations in the foraminous sleeve are quitesmall, the fibers being conveyed in the air stream are randomlydeposited on the outer surface of the sleeve. An exhaust fan, not shown,is suitably connected to one end of the collecting drum 27 to withdrawthe air and any finely divided foreign material from the interior of thecollecting drum.

The random deposition of the fibers on the collecting drum continuouslyforms a web 50 which is immediately stripped from the collecting drum.The thickness of this web will depend upon a rotational speed of thecollecting drum and the rate at which the fibers are being conveyed inthe air duct.

Thus, having described the present invention it will be apparent thatvarious modifications may be made without departing from the spirit andscope thereof and, therefore, the present invention is intended to belimited only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for continuously processing and cleaning masses offibers at high-speed comprising a means for forming the mases of fibersinto a lap, means for feeding the lap to a carding operation, arotatable carding mechanism for receiving and carding the fibers in thelap, a rotatable dotle'r mechanism for removing the carded fibers fromthe carding mechanism, means for rotating the dotier mechanism in theopposite direction to that of the carding mechanism, an upwardlyinclined air duct the lower end of which partially enshrouds the dofiingmechanism and has air inlet means adjacent both the upper side and thelower side of the dofler mechanism which open onto the cardingmechanism, a foraminous fiber collecting means communicating with theupper end of the air duct, and means for drawing air through the ductand through the forarninous collecting means.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the air duct increases incross-sectional area form the dofiing mechanism to the fiber collectingmeans.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the fiber collecting meansis a continuously moving foraminous surface.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 974,858 11/1910 Brown 19156.4

FOREIGN PATENTS 372,624 3/1923 Germany.

ROBERT R. MACKEY, Primary Examiner.

I. C. WADDEY, Assistant Examiner.

